The Companion Cavalry was the elite heavy cavalry arm of the Macedonian army, developed under Philip II and brought to its height under his son Alexander the Great. Riding without stirrups but wielding the long xyston lance in a wedge formation, the Companions delivered the decisive shock charge in Alexander's set-piece victories at the Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, typically led personally by Alexander at the head of the royal ile. The corps drew its name from the aristocratic Companions of the king who furnished their own horses and served as his closest officers and friends. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Force TypeElite heavy shock cavalry recruited from Macedonian nobility, armed with the xyston lance and organized into squadrons (ilai) around the king's own royal squadron 1 Founded Year Force Type
Force Type (category) Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Companion cavalry
The Companion Cavalry, Alexander's elite Macedonian horse, remained a core striking force for rival Diadochi armies in the succession wars
Fought In
Source Wikipedia: Companion cavalry
Led By
Source Wikipedia: Companion cavalry
Practices
Derived from entity-description (backfill w-bfill-g2-0924): "the Companion cavalry as a mobile striking force"
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Companion cavalry
Wikipedia- Elite cavalry arm of the Macedonian army, per the entity's own sourced description.
- Fought In: Wars of Alexander the Great
- Led By: Alexander the Great
- Associated With: Macedonian Army
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.